"Do you think it's safe for us to talk here?" Mitra asked again. "Are you sure?"

Damian wasn't completely sure, but he trusted that Lindy's research room was secure.

"I think so, yes. What happened?"

He felt anxious—curious to know what the hell had gone on while he was away. It was gnawing at him.

Mitra finally spoke, whispering even though they were alone.

"One night, Curt and I were sleeping in our room, like usual," she explained. "Then I woke up for some reason. That's when I saw someone going through your things in the middle of the night."

Damian frowned. They all shared the same room—like most students—so all of his things were still there.

"It was someone wearing a cloak. I couldn't see their face. I saw them turn to look at me, so I pretended to be asleep, just in case. Then… the figure left a minute later."

Mitra had freaked out that night. Someone had entered their locked room and was searching through Damian's belongings without making a sound. It was pure luck she had woken up.

The thought terrified her. What if it had happened other times? Her sleep hadn't been the same since.

Damian was utterly confused.

"I don't get it," he said. "Why would someone go through my things? It's just clothes and books."

He didn't have much with him. The only important item was his ID, which he always carried. Why would anyone search through his clothes and academy books? It made no sense.

"I don't know," Mitra said. "But that person was definitely up to something. Otherwise, they wouldn't have invaded our room. Tell me, Damian… is there something you want to share with us?"

Mitra and Curt both sensed that something was off. Damian faced a difficult choice in his mind.

He knew he had to tell them something—or else they would start pulling away from him, and that was the last thing Damian wanted.

He needed friends. People he could trust. Allies who would stand by him during this difficult time in the academy.

"Look," Damian began, "it all started the day I was here and saw two strange figures…"

He didn't mention the attempt on his and Lindy's lives aboard the plane—that was too much to share.

But he did tell them about the figures he had seen, how they were stealing from Lindy, and how he had been dragged into it all simply because he was her assistant.

Mitra and Curt were stunned. They had known something was wrong—especially after the beating Damian had suffered—but the real reason had been a mystery to them, until now.

"Damn it," Curt muttered. "So you're basically suffering just because you're her new assistant? But who the fuck are these people, and why are they stealing from her?"

Even Damian didn't know. But he did know that Lindy had secrets of her own. She was investigating something in the academy—or someone.

"That, I don't know yet," Damian admitted. "But this person you saw in the room… it might have been one of the figures I saw. Or maybe someone else from the same group that is targeting Lindy."

"What do we do now?" Mitra asked.

She was scared that those mysterious people might show up in their room again—or worse, try to attack one of them.

"For now, let's keep it quiet. And please, don't tell anyone," Damian said. "I don't think they'll go after you two. It's just me and Lindy."

Even with that reassurance, Curt and Mitra were still uneasy.

"We know, but what about you? We don't want to see our friend getting killed," Mitra said.

"I know, but don't worry about me," Damian replied.

He then asked about other things that had happened while he was away. Since the mission had been over the weekend, there had been no classes, so it was free time for all students.

But they had noticed something else. Apparently, Randal had been up to something too.

"Randal came to talk with us," Curt said. "He wanted to know more about you—like how you were when you were with us, that sort of thing."

Damian frowned. "What? Why would he want to know that? I don't even have classes with him anymore."

"I don't know," Curt said, "but he sounded friendly. It wasn't like he was investigating you—he just seemed curious about you. That's good, right?"

"Maybe…"

Damian now had one more thing to worry about—something he thought was behind him.

After their brief conversation, Curt and Mitra left. They didn't want to linger too long in Lindy's research room. With someone targeting her, anyone could be watching who entered and who left.

Damian stayed behind. He waited until Lindy returned. She didn't look happy.

"Why are you here?" she asked. "I thought you'd be in your room, resting or something."

Lindy placed her bag on the couch.

"I have something to share with you," Damian said.

He told her what he had just learned from Mitra and Curt—about the person who had entered his room and gone through his things.

"This doesn't make sense," Lindy said. "You have nothing with you. Maybe they thought I gave you something? That must be the reason, right?"

That was the only explanation she could think of.

"Yes, I think the same. How were things with the headmaster?" Damian asked.

Lindy's expression darkened. "Well… what I feared has happened. The headmaster is tangled up in this whole mess."

"What?" Damian said, surprised. "How?"

Lindy finally shared the truth with him—the real reason she was at the academy.

"Look, I studied here before, and then left after graduating to do my own thing. The headmaster was someone else back when I was a student."

"But after the headmaster changed, I started hearing about strange things happening in the academy's underground. Others are involved too. I don't know for sure what's going on down there because I don't have access—but that's why I took the job as a teacher here."

She had returned to the academy where she had once studied, determined to uncover what was really happening. Damian understood she wasn't doing this purely on her own; someone else had asked her to investigate as well—she wouldn't risk infiltrating the academy without some kind of benefit.

"Who hired you to do this, and what do you gain from it?" Damian asked.

"Money, artifacts, and—most importantly—knowledge. Remember I said they were investigating a new continent? I don't think that's all they're after anymore. We have to be careful."

Lindy had shared bits of this on the plane, but she had never revealed the full story about the academy's underground because she didn't know it herself. That was why she was there: to find out.

"But what about the headmaster?" Damian pressed.

"He was genuinely surprised to see me," she said, "just like the librarian. He's definitely with them."

The headmaster had acted as if he hadn't expected her—he thought she was dead. And the strange occurrences in the academy had begun after he took over. It didn't take a genius to connect the dots.

"But if the headmaster is connected to all of this, doesn't it mean we're not safe?" Damian asked.

"Kind of," Lindy admitted. "Look, he can't just kill us outright—that would make the news, and more people would start investigating. If he wants us dead, he'll have to do it indirectly. For now, we must avoid leaving the academy."

Damian nodded. "If we leave, they'll try to finish us like they did on the plane. But there are academy missions I can't ignore—and so do you."

Some practical exercises happen outside the academy. Damian couldn't skip those. Lindy, as one of the teachers, had to participate as well.

"Yes," she said, "but if we stay close to others, we should be safe. Just… please don't wander alone during the exercises."

"I know, I know," Damian said. "Let me know if you find anything else. I'll go back and rest."

The next day, classes would resume, and Damian wanted to rest beforehand. He was exhausted from everything that had happened recently.

As he was about to leave the research room, someone knocked on the door.

Lindy frowned. It wasn't common for anyone to go there unannounced. She instantly sensed that something was wrong.

She opened the door—and saw several officials standing there.

"Professor Lindy, we are here to arrest Damian," one of the officers said.

"What nonsense are you talking about?" Lindy demanded.

The officer explained, "We found evidence in his personal items indicating that he is working with outsiders to investigate the academy. Please step aside and allow us to do our job."

Damian clenched his fists, furious.

"That fucker planted evidence in my things… damn it," he thought.

The officers moved in and handcuffed him. As he was dragged away, Lindy called after him, "I'll clear this up for you. Don't worry."

She left her room and went straight to the headmaster for yet another confrontation.

As for Damian, he was taken to an underground cell—one few people ever visited.

It was the same place where some of the country's most dangerous criminals were kept. And now, Damian was among them.

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